Council postpones action on El Toro

Andrew Glazer

COSTA MESA -- It was just too late Monday night -- actually early Tuesday

morning -- for the City Council to take a strong stand about the county’s

controversial plans for an airport at El Toro.

So instead, it decided to keep its statement simple: The council is

unanimously opposed to any plans to expand John Wayne Airport.

The motion, which the council approved shortly after 1 a.m. on Tuesday in

a meeting that lasted nearly seven hours, is the city’s first official

stance on John Wayne Airport.

Council members were concerned that increasing air passenger demands in

Orange County would force the county to expand John Wayne Airport if the

proposed El Toro airport was to fall through.

The council was scheduled to discuss whether to endorse the scaled-down

El Toro airport proposal that was initially suggested by Supervisor

Cynthia Coad and recently embraced by the Orange County Regional Airport

Authority.

The proposal supports a primarily domestic airport at El Toro, allowing

only international flights to Canada, Mexico and Central America. It

would have the same restrictions on nighttime flights as does John Wayne.

And, assuming population trends continue as projected, the authority’s

proposal would cap the number of passengers traveling from El Toro at 18

million per year by 2010, said Peggy Ducey, executive director of the

airport authority.

Council Member Joe Erickson proposed an almost identical plan last year.

However, his plan limited the number of passengers to 8.4 million per

year -- the same cap as John Wayne Airport.

“It’s the only fair way to ask South County residents to put up with an

airport,” he said.

But Erickson’s proposal never reached a vote. The council was concerned

that demand would exceed 8.4 million passengers per year and force a John

Wayne expansion. The county will have the option of increasing John

Wayne’s passenger limit in 2005, when the existing restriction expires.

Erickson told the council that he isn’t stuck on the 8.4 million

passenger restriction. But he said he does think the number should be

lower than the authority’s proposal.

City Manager Allan L. Roeder recommended the council consider fusing

aspects of Erickson’s and the authority’s proposals into one.

But council members -- who celebrated their one-year anniversary of

serving together an hour before they began discussing the airport -- were

just too weary to craft a new proposal.

“I’m really getting tired here and am not sure about making an addendum,”

said Councilwoman Libby Cowan. The rest of the council, with heavy

eyelids and frequent yawns, unanimously approved the delay.

The council is scheduled to address the issue at its next meeting Dec.

20.